Moonlight Magic
by nila.nithila
Summary: Soushu is gone, but evil remains. As Yuri and the rest attempt to find the creators of destruction, the past gets confusingly intertwined with the present. In the darkness that follows, it isn't the sun but the moon that can save them.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, so please don't be angry if my writing is bad. I'd really like to try and improve my writing... but anyway, here it is...

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It was supposed to be his castle, but Yuri had to creep out unseen. Slipping past the last pair of gaurds, he crept out into the garden. The moon was full, and it shed a beautiful silver light over everything. There wasn't any real reason for his secrecy, he wasn't about to do anything wrong. He was just off to see a part of the garden. Nothing sinister about it. He'd been visiting that garden in his sleep for nearly a week, and was just about to visit it when he was awake.

He just wanted to see what it was like. There was no way he could bring someone with him though. The moment he tried to explain, Gunter would panic, Murata (who knew what prophetic dreams were really like) would laugh at him, and Wolfram would somehow manage to conclude that Yuri's innocent dreams about moonlit gardens meant that he was planning to cheat on him. Really, sometimes he felt like he'd rather face Soushu than his Fiance.

He walked quickly through the carefully laid out gardens, then smiled to himself as he stepped off the path and gently pushing through a few well cared for rose bushes, he emerged onto another paved path. He followed it until he found it. It was a moon garden, filled with beautiful, fragrant white flowers. It was beautiful by day, but now, in the gentle silver moonlight the garden was stunning. Every single white blossom was glowing. In the stone fountain, the reflection of the moon was nestled amongst the white water lilies.

Wolfram was following his fiance. Yuri had slipped out of their room obviously not wanting him to follow, but hey! He _was _Yuri's fiance. He had the right to know what he did in the middle of the night. He was slightly surprised when Yuri went out into the gardens, but he followed him, keeping to the shadows. Then, Yuri slipped of the path and through the flowers, and he crept through right after him. He found himself in a garden full of white flowers, and he realised he had seen this place before. In a dream. He couldn't stop himself.

"Yuri!" he cried out.

"Wha-? Wolfram! What are you doing here?" But Wolfram wasn't listening. The place was beautiful. Even his mother would be proud of such a garden...but he was confused. How had he seen it in his dreams? He'd never seen this place before. And that was surprising as well. Living in the castle all his life, he had thought he knew the grounds quite well. Apparently Not. However, not stumbling across this place for eighty years...there was no chance of that was there? He couldn't understand. "Wolfram?" asked a voice, quite close. Wolfram blinked, and saw worried looking black eyes inches away from his.

"Are you okay? You looked sort of dazed..."

Yuri was peering into Wolfram's emerald eyes. They had a sort of far away look. It was strange. He should have known that Wolfram would probably follow him, but now he was actingstrange. He had called out to him, he was certain of that, but when he answered, Wolfram didn't seem to be paying attention. In fact he was ignoring him completely (And that was strange in itself, Yuri couldn't ever remember Wolfram totally ignoring him like this before). The moonlight was giving everything an eerie, dream like quality, and the pale flowers surrounding them didn't help. Wolfram's eyes were strangely unfocused, and they were glassy. Yuri could see the moon's reflections in them. "Wolfram?" he called again. Suddenly the blonde blinked, and his eyes cleared.

"Are you okay? You looked sort of dazed...maybe we should go back?" he asked, concerned.

"Back?" Wolfram echoed. He still looked spaced out.

"Yeah...back to the castle," he said, "Let's go." The green eyes showed puzzlement, then understanding.

"No it's alright. I'm fine." Wolfram answered. "I was just surprised. I've been dreaming about this place for a while." his eyes swept around the garden again. "I had no idea that it was really here...I thought I was imagining it." Wolfram sat down on the edge of the stone fountain. "It looks exactly like it did in my dreams." Wolfram smiled, but Yuri was stunned. Wolfram had had the same dreams?

Wolfram was still a little unnerved. He felt like he had walked straight into a dream (he told himself that he probably had). Yuri was hovering by his side, concerned. Looking up, he suddenly realised that Yuri must have been here before (how else could he have known the way?) and that there was probably a reason why his fiance had crept out of the castle in the dead of night to visit a garden that no one else even knew existed. "What are you doing here Yuri? How did you know how to get here? I've been here for eighty years, and I haven't even heard of this place." Yuri just stared back at him. "Answer me, Yuri."

"Well..." Yuri began, "I came here tonight because I dreamed about this garden too. And I came across this place by mistake a long time ago." Yuri sat down beside him. "Conrad and I lost a ball when we were playing baseball, and I was looking for it all over the place. I never did find that ball...but I stumbled across this place though." he said looking around.

"Why did you go through the bushes to get to the path?" Wolfram continued. That made no sense at all. "Was it a shortcut?"

"No...well, that's the only way I know to get to that path. If you try following it either way it will lead you back here. And it doesn't meet any other paths either...I suppose this used to be someone's private garden, and only they knew how to get in." Yuri looked thoughtful. He was confused too. Who would plant a secret isolated moon garden that you had to crawl through bushes to see? But that wasn't what was most important right now.

"Why didn't you bring me with you? Did you have to come alone?" he asked quietly. It hurt him to know that Yuri didn't even trust him enough to tell him something so simple.

Yuri could see that Wolfram was hurt that he hadn't brought him along. He took his fiance's pale hand in his. "I'm sorry. I really am. It wasn't that I don't trust you, I just didn't want to bother you." Wolfram looked heavenly. His golden hair, the only bit of vibrant color he could see was shining with silver light, and his pale skin was glowing. His emerald eyes were deep and clear. He was beautiful. Like always.

"You look beautiful," he murmured.

"Yuri?" Wolfram turned to him, "Thanks."

Two silver eyes were watching the royal couple from amongst the night flower blossoms. It was arguing with itself silently, debating wether or not it should show itself to the monarch. In the end, it whispered aloud, in a voice that could be (and was) mistaken for the breeze, "Not Today. I'll tell you tomorrow, my beautiful king, because I really must tell you soon."

To Be Continued.

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So? What do you think? Is it okay for a first try? Please review, I really need to know your opinions. If it's too boring, I won't continue writing this story. Thankyou for reading my First Attempt At Fanfiction.


	2. Chapter 2

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Hello! Thank's for reviewing.

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~Shinou~

"Hello, Shinou-Heika" the voice was musical, teasing, grave and serious at once. "We haven't spoken for quite a while. Was it because you were too busy with your Sage, Heika?" Shinou sighed. He never could make her stop teasing him about his sage. But today, he knew she had something very important to say, because she left it at that.

"Has Ayla told them?" He asked her.

"No." She paused, "I don't see why you're forcing her to though. She really doesn't want to."

Another sigh. "You know I don't order either of you around unless it's really important Elara. You don't want me to start threatening you with the possibble consequences of not doing as I say do you?" He could almost see her eyes narrow and the corner of her lips turn down at the corners. She knew as well as he did about the many (many many many) difficulties of delicate 'meddling'. However, although she so often disagreed with him, she had never failed him in any way. And he was certain that she wasn't going to fail him any time soon. In fact, he didn't think she'd ever fail him. Knowing that she was probably furious, he asked, "What does Ayla have against telling Yuri again?"

Tone softened, meaning she forgave him for the uncalled for insult, she answered, "Ayla's looked after him for quite a while now, and she doesn't see why he has to be told that you are giving him special protection, and that she's always around."

"Because I can't have Ayla waste her powers on concealing herself. She needs to be prepared for a lot of trouble, and I believe she'll be having her hands full without needlessly draining herself," he answered, equally calm and polite.

"Right, I agree." She understood the seriousness of the situation. "Good. Tell her that I _order_ her to be careful. And I want you to be careful as well." He knew it was useless to tell her this. He had never seen anyone who was more well-prepared for difficult, unusual, and dangerous situations than she was. Only his Sage could equal her. Nevertheless, he felt like warning her. Something deep inside his ancient soul told him there would be trouble soon.

"I know." There was a certain graveness in her voice that he could not place. It was unsettling. "Has Ulrike tried Seeing recently?" she continued.

"I believe so. Why?" he prepared himself to hear something terrible.

"Because I can only See a month and a half from now. After that is Darkness. That means it hasn't been Written right?" That wasn't much news to him, and he knew that she knew it wasn't. She only wanted him to confirm the fact. At first he only nodded, then caught himself and said "Yes."

"Alright then. Bye." he could feel the connection she had built begin to dissolve.

"Goodbye." The connection broke.

~Murata~

Murata was eating breakfast at the castle. Yuri and Wolfram looked like they were half asleep, Lord Grisela and Lord von Voltaire were having a quiet, serious conversation, Lord von Kleist appeared to be dreaming, and he and Conrad were concentrating on eating their toast. He heard someone call Shibuya. Looking up, he realised it was Gunter.

"Heika, I was wondering if you had been having a certain recurring dream." That was an odd question. However, there was probably an important reason why he was asking that question. Although Gunter made himself seem like a feather head, he was brilliant. The look on Yuri's face proved him right. Both he and Wolfram looked wide awake now. "About a garden with white flowers maybe?" Gunter continued.

Now it was Murata's turn to look astonished. He had been the one having those dreams. Wolfram stood up. He was completely astonished too. "You don't mean that EVERYONE has been having the same dream for a week!" he said loudly.

"Wolfram, Sit Down. There Is No Need To Yell." that was Lord Voltaire. Wolfram sat down meekly, and Lord Voltaire continued. "However, I do agree with you. Has everyone here been dreaming about a garden with white flowers?" Sharp blue eyes sweeped around the table. Everyone nodded (there's not much else you can do when Lord Voltaire looks like that). The blue eyes turned to look at him. "Geika, can you explain what this means? It can't be a coincidence."

Smiling, Murata answered, "I believe it means that someone or something (and possibbly a certain annoying king, he thought to himself) is calling us there. And I believe it would do no harm, because white does mean peace, so that is possibbly the reason why that garden was chosen. However, I have no idea where it is, so we are left at a disadvantage."

"It's part of the castle grounds." Shibuya said. Everyone stared at him surprised. "Yeah, Yuri and I went there last night," Wolfram agreed.

~Gwendal~

"It's through here," Yuri called, before he pushed his way through some rose bushes. Wolfram, Geika, and Conrad followed him. He looked back up at the castle after his brother was swallowed by the foliage. Hube hadn't come: he was already off on his next mission. Gwendal had a lot of work to do too. Yet he also really wanted to see the garden. He wanted to see if it was as beautiful as it was in his dreams.

He heard someone laugh right behind him. He turned around. "You only wanted to come because you wanted to see the cute white flowers, right Gwendal?" Gunter asked him, still laughing. Gwendal smiled (yes it is possibble. although to most it would only be his lips turning up at the corners a fraction of an inch or so). Somehow it wasn't so bad when Gunter was the one teasing him. He shrugged, then pushed his way through the bushes. He could hear Gunter following him.

Emerging on the other side, he took in the garden with one sweep of his eyes. The garden was Perfect. He couldn't say he'd never seen a garden that was as beautiful, but he could tell that once the sun set and the moon rose, it would become completely enchanting.

"It looked even better last night." Wolfram told him, then turned to Yuri. "We could have a moonlight feast here one night. It would be perfect. All..." Wolfram broke off as what appeared to be a large butterfly flew towards them, and said "Hello!"

Conrad at once stepped in front of Yuri and Geika and drew out his sword. Wolfran conjured up a fire ball. Although both his brothers completely distrusted the newcomer, Gwendal couldn't help but look closer. The creature had a tiny human body, and large butterfly wings. It was obviously a She. Her Wings were intricately designed, and they were glowing with the light of the moon. He had no Idea what she was, but politeness is important. "Hello."

The creature turned to him (it had been eyeing the flame in Wolfram's palm warily) "Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Ayla."

~Conrad~

He was surprised. He had known that Gwendal would let down his gaurd the moment he saw something cute, but Geika had let his down too. He was walking toward the creature that called itself Ayla. "My name's Murata Ken. Pleased to meet you, Ayla." It must be safe then. He sheathed his sword.

"Conrad?" It was Wolfram. He shrugged and smiled. Gunter was introducing himself to Ayla too.

"See Wolfram? It's safe. You can put the fireball away." Yuri told him. Wolfram merely frowned.

She had introduced herself to everyone. Wolfram had seemed a bit reluctant to accept, but she was sure he'd get over it. Turning to Yuri she said "Heika, I have been appointed your personal body gaurd by someone whose identity I cannot reveal. So, I wanted to ask for your permission." That was confusing. She knew it was, but how could she tell him that she had already been his body gaurd for half a year? Yuri seemed stunned. Actually, everyone except the great sage looked stunned.

"Would we be allowed to consult Shinou, and then answer?" he asked.

"Certainly" she answered, glad that he had gotten her out of a rather confusig situation.

Turning to the Maoh, he said, "Come on Shibuya. We can go right now can't we?"

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Thanks!

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	3. Chapter 3

~Yuri~

Yuri was bored. He always tried to listen to Gunter's lessons, but he never got very far. Espescially when there were so many other things to think about. Through the window he could see Greta playing with Ayla. In the week that Ayla had been around, she had made friends with everyone (espescially Greta, who seemed to think she was a replacement for Yuuram, her Bearbee). He had not expected Wolfram to trust anyone that easily.

_That might have been because of Shinou. Wolfram probably wouldn't argue with him, espescially if he said it was for my safety...but I wonder what he meant when he said she's supposed to be my bodygaurd. She looks so fragile...although she did switch those delicate butterfly wings for sturdier dragonfly wings..._

_...I wonder what he meant when he said that there are dark times ahead of us. Soushu's gone right? Wasn't that the darkest power in this world? _

_Of course, I shouldn't underestimate Ayla. She must have a lot of power...Murata says it's very tiring and difficult to adopt a false form for a long time, but she's been using that form for quite a while...speaking of which Shinou wouldn't tell us exactly what she was, and he told Murata not to tell us if he ever found out...and surprisingly, no one else seems to know..._

"Heika!" Yuri looked up, jerked out of his train of thought. Gunter seemed slightly put out. "Gwendal would like to see everyone in his office. Yozak has just arrived, and apparently he has some news." he said. "Yes Gunter." Yuri stood up, and followed by his teacer, headed towards the door.

Everyone was in Gwendal's office when they arrived. (Maybe it was because Gunter had burst into tears when he had touched the door, babbling about how it was unfair that he had to miss his classes with his majesty more often than anyone else did. Feeling slightly guilty, Yuri had promised that they could make it up later) "What's wrong?" he asked.

Something was obviously very wrong. Yozak's eyes were cold, and serious. There wasn't even the hint of mischieviousness in the electric blue eyes. Yuri had learned that when Yozak looked like this, or when Conrad stopped smiling, or when Gunter turned calm and serious, something was terribly wrong.

At such times, there was that strange light in all his advisors' eyes. That incredibly focused light that said that someone would have to pay for whatever had happened. If anyone had read his thoughts, they would have told him that when he turned into the Maoh, his eyes became that way too.

~Gunter~

The Air in the room seemed stiff. Gunter suddenly wished he hadn't wasted time playing with Heika (although it was really fun, Yuri was just too sweet)

"Heika," Yozak began when he and Yuri had sat down, "Many villages are being attacked again."

"What?" Yuri asked, turning to Gwendal. "Didn't we employ extra guards in all the remote villages to keep the bandits away?"

"Hei-" before Gwendal could answer, Yozak interrupted, "They are not thieves, Heika. They're murderers. As far as I know, they've attacked fifteen different villages. It appears that they find that they can easily break through our defenses." Wolfram made a move to interrupt but Conrad shook his head at him. "They come into the village after they dispose of the guards, and then they...they dispose of everyone else in the village, including children and women."

As Yozak finished, Yuri gasped out loud. Wolfram looked disgusted. As for himself, he was disgusted too. Just when he opened his mouth, Ayla, who was sitting on the Sage's shoulder spoke up, "Do you have any leads? Clues?"

"No," Yozak shook his head. "They seem to appear out of nowhere, and disappear right back into it. And they haven't stolen anything at all, so it looks like it's not the items they are after."

"They approach remote villages that have little protection against well trained rogues, (at this point quite a few of the people around the table winced) kill everyone there, and then disappear?" Gunter asked just to make sure. Yozak nodded.

"Why on earth would anyone do that?" Yuri asked. "Why would anyone do something like...like...th..that?" Yuri looked sick.

"That's what we are supposed to find out," Gwendal answered, "but first, we should either evacuate the people in remote villages that are hard to protect, or find some means to give them adequate protection."

"I believe we should evacuate them," Conrad spoke up, "If they don't wan't to steal, then it wouldn't matter if the villages are abandoned until we can catch the rogues would it?"

"Of course it would, if that's what they want us to, so that they can have a clear field," his Eminence answered.

"So we should give iall/i the villages more protection?" Wolfram asked.

"Is that even Possibble?" Gunter asked, although he knew the answer. Although Shin Makoku had a large army, it was not big enough for this. There were just too many remote villages and not enough soldiers.

"No, it isn't." Gwendal answered. "Which means we still have no idea what we're going to do."

"Can we set a trap?" Someone asked, but Gunter was no longer paying attention. He was too busy watching the small figure perched on his Eminence's shoulder. Ayla hadn't done anything at all. She was merely listening to the conversation, but he had remembered a flash of something. He stood up quickly, and excused himself "Please excuse me, I need to see something." He turned and walked out of the room.

Once in the hall, he strode quickly through the corridors to the library. He went over to the shelves with books on magical creatures and pulled out a few ancient-looking tomes. The books on rare birds that were believed to be extinct. He came to a few rather large, dusty volumes with tiny lettering. He had a vague memory of reading about something similar to Ayla in one of them.

_Something about moonlit wings, and keen, sharp, yet kind eyes... _He skimmed through the pages of the first one... _Crimson feathers...no not a bird associated with fire ..._He skipped some more pages... _not a Nunyayune...no matter what Shinou does, he wouldn't give us a demon eating giant...Pegais...Bennu...No! Where is it? I knew it was here somewhere! _He picked up the last book. It was slightly smaller than the others. The author was Elara von Kleist.

_Elara von Kleist...that sounds familiar...probably the time of the 20th Maoh... _he opened the book and began to read. _This bird is extremely rare, but it's magical ability and intilligence surpasses all others. The male and the female vary so greatly in every aspect that they are almost seperate species. However, they are seldom found apart. The male possesses strong fire magic and it's feathers in its true form are dazzling gold and red like the sun. The female possesses strong wind/water magic, and shines with the brilliance of the moon. Although they prefer to use these elements, they can both control other elements. They have the ability to read minds, and know at a glance wether a person is to be trusted or not. Sometimes, they form deep bonds with a demon, and will do anything in ther power to serve them. These birds have a strong sense of right and wrong, and if their master or mistress turns to wrong-doing, they will at once burst into flames (male and female). The young bird born from the ashes will be identical to the previous bird, except that it will not be bound to said master or mistress... that's enough, I'll read this later..._He got up, and taking the book with him walked up to his room._ ...A Pheonix...No, I certainly could not have guessed that._

**Note: The male and female pheonixes are derived from the chinese pheonix FengHuang where the Male (Feng) depicts the Solar Cycle, and the Female (Huang) depicts the Lunar Cycle. This is sort of funny because I learned this stuff **_**after **_**I decided Ayla was a moon-phoenix. However, FengHuang are supposed to appear in times of peace and prosperity, and disappear in troubled times. Oh well, It's a demon world, after all!**

**The Nunyayune is a Giant human eating bird of North America, Pegias is a Scythian bird with the head of a horse, and Bennu is the Egyptian Pheonix.**

**Elara is the name of one of Jupiter's moons, and in Mythology is the daughter of King Orchomenus, and one of Zeus' many lovers. **

**Ayla is a Turkish name meaning "circle of cristalic light around the sun or moon or simply halo". Since Ayla is reserved for the feminine, it is usually synonymous with "moonlight".**

**Thankyou for reading, and please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm **_**really **_**sorry I took so long. But I was totally stuck, and didn't know what to do with this story. Oh well, here's a very short chapter. Hope you like it.**

~Murata~

_He was being chased. He was running as fast as he could, but it was following him easily. It was gaining. Desperately he ran into a room and locked the door behind him. Then the dream changed. At once he realised where he was. Blood Pledge Castle._

_This must be centuries ago...not that it matters much, but from the portraits I believe this is the reign of the 19th Maoh...Shinou you meddling moron! That's what you meant! He thought the dream would end then. That that was all Shinou had to tell him. Apparently not, because the dream went on._

_He heard voices outside. And like in most dreams (and in most of his real life) he seemed to know exactly what to do. Following them, he found himself in the courtroom. _And the Sage saw himself._ Or at least the person he had been at the time. _

_What are you trying to say? Why do I need to see it again? I know what happened..._He saw himself deep in conversation with the Maoh of the time. _Not that he listened properly to my advice. He should have listened to me first...when I told him NOT to send extra forces to the von Kleist province because we wouldn't have enough men to defend a large attack. I TOLD him it was a decoy...but no, he wouldn't listen. They didn't even need extra protection. They had... _He woke up.

The sage sat up in bed and mechanically reached for his glasses. "Shinou. You..."

"Meddling Moron? I try to _help_ and you call me a _meddling moron?_"

Looking up he saw the spirit. Frowning.

"I was actually trying to _help. _ It took you a while too. Going on about," he continued in a perfect imitation of the great sage, "he shouldn't have sent the extra forces blah blah...I TOLD him..." He stopped. "The sage _I _ knew wouldn't have taken so long.

"The 'sage you knew' is tired after four thousand years of baby-sitting an ungrateful, annoying, spirit. Namely, you."

Shinou's frown deepened. His blue eyes sparkling angrily. "I'll punish you for that later. Right now, you have to get back to the castle."

"It's three in the morning."

"Get there early and you'll get a nice front seat." Murata got out of bed. Although Shinou was joking, he was a shade grave. Something told him that things were even worse than Lord von Voltaire believed.

_"_Now what happened?" he asked, part of him wondering when the old spirit had grown up. Only during their fight with soushu had he been so serious.

"You'll see when we get there."

"We?"

"I think you could make up for the insult by letting me ride on your shoulder." the spirit said triumphantly, shrinking as he spoke.

The sage rolled his eyes in his most un-sagelike manner.

~Ayla~

Ayla was fluttering around the library. _He remembered something. That's why he left. _She flew to the back of the library. All the books had been looked through recently. Finally she got to an empty slot. _He took it with him. Oh why wasn't I more careful? _she thought to herself as she flew out the window.

~Gunter~

Gunter was skimming through the book. It seemed that Elara von Kleist had known a _lot_ about phoenixes. Kind of funny,when most people didn't even know they existed. _I wonder where I read that other bit. I don't remember a thing...just that I read something similar..._ There was a rap on the window.

"Come in Ayla." he said without turning.

~Ayla~

Gunter opened the window and she flew in, hovering in mid-air at his height.

"Lord von Kleist..." she trailed off as she saw the book he was reading. She nearly flipped when she saw the author's name. _ Where did that come from?_

"You need the book back." It was a statement. He knew why she was here,what she was, and chances were that he would guess more. Not good.

"Well yes...please...and could you...Not tell anyone what you just found out? ...It would be disastrous for our plans." She winced immediately. She shouldn't have said that. She had been so worried about getting the book away that she had slipped the wrong information. To the wrong person.

"I see." The lavender eyes didn't betray the fact that he'd caught the slip. _He's dangerous. _ "Well, I don't mind that-" _Thankgoodness! _"- as long as you promise me two things."

"What are they? I'm afraid we-" _Great. how much more can I give away? _"-I can't let you tell Yuri Heika."

"Actually, I don't want to. I wish to discuss this with his Eminence, who, I think, knows this already, and I would like to look at one more page in this book before I give it to you."

Relief flooded through her. She smiled. "Fine. But you can't tell _anyone _else until I say you can."

"Alright."

~Murata~

The guards gave Murata funny looks as they opened the gates for him. Who wouldn't find it strange that the Sage with the frightening glasses was entering the castle in the middle of the night? _But that's what happens if you spend time with crazy people. You become crazy yourself._

_"I heard that." _Shinou grumbled in his head.

_"I told you not to do that."_

Shinou sighed. _"Is there anything left in this world that you _haven't _asked me not to do, my sage?"_

_"Of course not. Normally, things are safest when you don't do anything." _Murata got off his horse and led it to the stables.

The spirit riding on his shoulder didn't answer. That made twice today that Shinou hadn't responded when he did that. The Sage began to worry.

_"Should we hurry?" _he asked once he had stabled his horse.

_"No, I think we're early." _Shinou answered. He sounded tired.

_"Shinou. Tell me what's going on. Something is seriously wrong." _ Murata's thought-voice showed that he was no longer playing around.

_"I can't. You'll find out for yourself soon."_

_"Is it about the attacks on the villagers?"_

_"It's...connected, in a way."_

_"Is Shibuya in danger?"_

_"If Ayla is around, No."_

_"Then I can wait." _

Murata had nearly reached the front entrance when Shinou remarked, "Looks like someone was waiting for you."

"Who...?" It was Gunter. "Oh."

**To be continued...**

**I know it was terribly short, and that nothing happened, but you see, most of the characters were sleeping. It **_**was **_**three o'clock in the morning. I couldn't bring myself to make the sun rise in this chapter. Sorry. But I'll try and update as soon as possible. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! If anyone would like me to beta for them, I would be more than happy to...**

**continued...**

~Wolfram~

"Heika! Wolfram! Wake up." Somebody was knocking on the door. Wolfram sat up. "Hurry!" that person called.

Wolfram turned to his fiance who was fast asleep, and shook him. "Yuri. Wake up. Something's wrong."

Yuri rolled over and said "Huh?"

"Get up Wimp. Something's wrong." He'd already finished changing, and he threw Yuri's clothes to him. "Get moving wimp."

"Okay. Wait a moment." Yuri mumbled, pulling on his black uniform.

Outside the door, Yozak was waiting for them. "Follow me." He said, setting off at a brisk pace.

"What happened?" Yuri asked, wide awake.

"Hube just got in with news. A village not far from here was attacked. The Commander's called an emergency meeting."

"What?" Wolfram asked incredulously. "What happened to the 'remote, near the border' part of the description? Don't tell me that village had too few gaurds too."

It just wasn't possible. All areas around the capital were well gaurded. If this was true, then it wasn't just a bunch of rogues, and it wasn't a random attack. It just couldn't be.

~Gunter~

Gunter was sitting in Gwendal's office again, sipping a cup of hot chocolate. They were waiting for Yuri Heika and Wolfram so that they could begin. Hube had just finished telling them what had happened, and was drinking a cup of coffee. Gwendal and Conrad were marking the villages that had been attacked on a map of Shin Makoku. His Eminence had closed his eyes, and appeared to be concentrating on something. He didn't know where Shinou and Ayla were. Gunter looked at the meditating sage, and wished he'd been able to have a private word with him. He'd been outside, waiting for him (Ayla had told him he was coming) but Hube had arrived almost immediately after the sage had, and he hadn't been able to ask anything.

The door opened, and Yozak, Wolfram, and Yuri Heika walked in. Shinou suddenly appeared on His Eminence's shoulder, and Ayla flew in behind Wolfram. The trio sat down (Ayla hovering above them) and Hube immediately spoke.

"Heika, there was another attack. This time it was a village only a half hour's ride from here. From the looks of it, I found the village only a few hours after it was attacked."

"All the other attacks were near the border weren't they?" Yuri asked uncomfortably. Conrad passed him the map he had been marking.

"We've marked the places that have been attacked." he told the Maoh.

Yuri and Wolfram peered at it.

"Can...we go and see the latest attack?" Yuri asked. Typical Yuri Heika behavior.

Gwendal was the first to answer, "I'm afraid we can't let you do that Heika. We don't know if this is a trap, We have no idea who or what is doing this, and until we do, we can't let you go there." Typical Gwendal behavior too.

Gunter spoke up, "I have a few questions because I missed the meeting yesterday. Could you answer them, then decide if Yuri Heika can go after that?" Gwendal nodded. "Could I see the map?" Yuri passed it to him silently.

Gunter looked at the map for a moment, then asked, "The other fifteen attacks took place in places that have little communication didn't they? Would there have been very many travellers around?"

Yozak answered, "Well actually, when I said _remote_ I really meant it. Those villages are almost cut off from the rest of Shin Makoku. Travellers barely ever go there."

"That would explain why it took so long for us to find out that there had been attacks?"

Yozak nodded. The rest of the room was very silent. All eyes either on him, or Yozak.

"Who discovered the attacks?"

This time, Gwendal answered. "The messengers we sent for the monthly reports didn't report to us. I sent Yozak there to see what had happened."

Yuri heika sat up straighter, "The messengers were _killed?_"

"Yes Heika."

Yuri slumped.

Addressing Gwendal, Gunter asked "About how many days did you wait before you sent Yozak?"

Gwendal looked a little troubled. "I waited for three days after the other messengers returned, which was a week after I sent them."

Gunter heard wings beating behind him. Ayla landed gently on his shoulder. "Sorry, my wings are tired." she whispered. He nodded his head a fraction of an inch. He glanced at his Eminence, who smiled, then spoke.

~Murata~

Gunter had been doing rather well. The slow roundabout way was pretty much the only way to get the message accross to Shibuya that _Whoever_ was doing this was Dangerous. Just not in the way everyone seemed to be imagining. It was also the only way to keep him at the castle. There were other reasons why Shibuya shouldn't be going.

_"And Smart. He's trying to get that across as well. Although this is Very boring." _Murata just had to smile at that. Gunter glanced at him, and he continued.

"And today, what happened now?" the sage asked quietly, making Wolfram jump.

Lord Grisela was surprised. He had gone over what had happened _in detail _before Yuri Heika arrived. Yet he played along.

"I had gone to see..." Hube paused, glanced at Gwendal, then said, "..something...this morning, and the village was on my route when I returned."

_"Nice save." Shinou thought-mumbled._

_"And Shibuya has learned from Yozak. He used to be very curious what various 'something's and 'nothing's were." _he thought as he said, "So the village was attacked in the dark?"

Lord Grisela nodded.

_"You act as though he isn't your king." _Shinou chided.Murata ignored him this time. "You used the same route this morning, when you left?"

Lord Grisela nodded again.

Suddenly, Gunter laughed lightly, startling nearly every person on the table. Everyone except him, Shinou, and Ayla.

"Brilliant." Gunter said to the room.

_"Brilliant?" _Wolfram asked, disgustedly. He was eyeing the advisor as though he had gone mad. And Wolfram wasn't the only one.

"Of course." Gunter answered. "They choose to attack villages where our men are staying, but outsiders rarely ever travel to otherwise, and we just _happen _to be the first to receive the news..."

"...And then, the day we get the news, they stage an attack close by, in a place they knew we'd find it before anyone else did. Someone's very carefully and painstakingly planned this, just for us." Murata finished. "The question now, is _why."_

"They killed _ALL _those people, just to hurt us?" Yuri asked, his dark eyes glowing.

"No Heika." Conrad said. "They probably want us to do something right now. Something they expect us to do, and once we do, we'll be trapped."

"And how do we know what they want, and react differently?" Ayla asked, speaking for the first time. She shifted on Gunter's shoulder.

"Of course," Shinou said, "We can't know for certain that Yuri Heika is wrong, and that they aren't doing this just to hurt us."

Silence. Murata wanted to strangle the small form on his shoulder. He glanced at the expressions on everyone's faces. Most just seemed confused. He noticed that Ayla was smiling.

"That settles it." she said, in her silvery voice. "What time are we leaving?

_"Shinou?"_

_"Yes, My Sage?"_

_"I hate you."_

~Gwendal~

After deciding that they would set off at dawn, Heika and Wolfram left, leaving the others behind in Gwendal's office.

The room had a melancholy air. Like the air at a funeral. The sage was glaring daggers at Shinou.

"Is something wrong?" Shinou asked, almost mockingly, as he jumped off the sage's shoulder onto the table.

"_Of COURSE something's wrong. _Did it ever occur to you, that we _knew_ it wasn't a trap?" The sage asked, surprising him and Conrad.

"You did?" He asked, stunned.

"Well...Yes."

"Then why-?" Hube began when Conrad cut him off.

"You didn't want Yuri to see it?" he asked quietly. The sage nodded.

"He's got to toughen up sometime." Shinou said dismissively.

"Do you have any idea how angry Shibuya's going to be when he sees what happened? We might not even be able to make him wait until-"

"Why wait?" Ayla's simple question took the wind out of The Sage's sails.

He paused. "Oh yes. Forgive me, but I had forgotten that the two of you actually know what's going on. Too bad neither of you feel like telling us _mortals_." Gwendal didn't know why the Sage stressed the word 'mortals' but it made Ayla and Shinou flinch. The sage stood up. "Excuse me." he said to the room at large, then walked out.

~Shinou~

His Sage was acting strange. _He must be worried._ He wished he hadn't mocked him now. He had known that his Sage would be irritated that he was with-holding information from him, but not this nettled. Not that anything could be done about it. _Sometimes he's the one who hasn't grown up after all this time. _he thought sadly.Shinou faded away. He had been away from the temple for too long. The last thimg he saw was Ayla perched on Lord von Kleist's shoulder, looking guiltily at the door his sage had just exited.

**...To Be Continued...**

**Please read and review!**

**I actually meant to make the sun rise in the last chapter, and I still haven't gotten around to it. I know that nothing acctually happened, and that it's rather boring, but tomorrow they're actually going to the site of the attack. Do you think my characters seem a little OOC? I know I've said it already, but please review! Oh yes, If anyone could beta for me I would be really happy! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay! I made the sun rise... And YAY MY EXAMS ARE OVER!!!...maybe I should change the story's genre to angst? Well, maybe it's just this chapter. Please Read and Review.**

**...Continued...**

~The Sun~

_The golden sun rose gently above the horizon, to get his first glimpse of Blood Pledge Castle. The sky around him was rosy pink, the light in the sky appearing new and young. A fresh beginning, that had happpened since the beginning of time, and even earlier. The rising sun, normally greeted by closed curtains and sleeping figures, was instead greeted by several men already on horseback, waiting for his arrival. He had not yet entirely crossed the horizon, when they took off._

~Yuri~

Yuri was racing on Ao, riding between Conrad and Wolfram. Yozak was leading He had been ready long before sunrise, like everyone else. No one had been able to sleep after their disturbing conversation. Wolfram had been uncharacteristically solemn, and had barely said a word to him. The faces of the rest of his advisors were grave as well. Murata looked furious. Ayla fluttered along beside them. She was fast, able to keep up with the horses with ease.

_The sky was stunning. Golden edged clouds were scattered accross the slowly brightening pink sky. The, sun, which had just crossed the horizon, was a ball of fire. But none of them noticed the beauty around them. They were more concerned with the ugliness they were about to see. _

OoOoOoOoO

~Yozak~

"This is it" Yozak slowed his horse down, almost an hour later. The sun was much higher, and the sky was blue. He could hear birdsong. "The village is just around the corner." There were some trees and bushes obscuring the view of the village. _Thank goodness. _He thought. Visions of the scenes he had seen in the last couple of days flashed through his head. He scanned the faces around him. None of them noticed he was looking. He _was _a spy for a reason.

The Captain and the Commander were both grim. Conrad was eyeing Wolfram and Yuri uneasily. Gunter's face was blank, but his eyes seemed haunted. The Sage still looked furious, but he looked like he'd accepted things. He noticed the spy, gave a small smile, and whispered 'Goodluck'. Okay, maybe someone did notice. A soldier in a blue uniform approached. He was youngish looking, with pale blonde hair that fell boyishly into his light blue eyes. Haunted light blue eyes. The boy was unhealthily pale. As though he'd seen a ghost. _Well he actually might have seen one._ Yozak thought.

"Your horses sir?" The boy asked.

"Take them..." The commander said dismissively. The soldier nodded, and took his horse. Gwendal was about to turn away, but then he said, "Just tie them up, Alex. Then you can leave. Take two days off." He dismissed him. Yozak had to hide a smile. The commander would have to try harder to keep up his reputation as a frightening, scary person. He couldn't be this kind and expect people to think he was heartless.

~Wolfram~

Wolfram was scared. He didn't look it, but he was secretly dreading walking into the village. Wolfram had been young during the last war against the humans, but maybe that was why his memories of it were so vivid. He had never seen a battlefield, but he had seen the wounded carried on stretchers, and heard their screams of pain. He'd seen them draw their last breaths, their faces contorted even in their final moments with the intense pain. And then white stretchers again, as they were carried off to their final resting places. Many had survived, yes. But almost as many had died. That was why Wolfram had never wanted to be a healer. He wouldn't have been able to stomach his patients dying.

But he was now walking into a mortuary, and he couldn't turn and run. Besides, Wolfram could only imagine how badly Yuri would take it.

~Murata~

_'He'll have to toughen up sometime.' _Shinou's word's echoed in his head. Murata wanted to scowl or bang his head against a tree. He was so angry with the spirit that he could have killed him. _Which I could have done, _The sage thought sadly, _If he hadn't made me do it then...At that time... _Murata scolded himself mentally. These weren't the best thoughts to have right now. Of all those present, he was probably the one who would be the least scarred after seeing what they were going to see.

But that was only because Murata's soul was already so scarred, and so torn apart, that any more damage would probably go unnoticed.

"There's no point putting this off. It's best we get it over with." The sage said aloud. Conrad nodded. Gwendal just looked at him. Wolfram and Yuri didn't even turn around. Ayla looked at him. She looked apologetic. Murata sighed. No one else seemed to want to head towards the village. Steeling himself, he walked away from the group.

~Ayla~

Ayla watched as the sage walked towards the vegetation that seperated them from the village. She decided that Yuri would need her the most, and settled on his shoulder.

"We should go, Heika." she whispered in his ear. The black haired monarch followed his friend. The rest of the group followed his example. Ayla prayed that the sage was wrong and that Shinou had been right. _Because it's too late to change things if he's wrong._

~Yuri~

Yuri could hear his hear beating loudly in his chest. He didn't _want_ to see the dead people; no one did. But somehow, he felt like he just had to. If those people did it to hurt him, then best to be hurt right? Everyone else kept shooting worried glances at him. As though they were afraid he was going to..._oh No! _Yuri realised._ What if I __**do**__turn into the Maoh and cause an enormous thunderstorm..." _His thoughts trailed on. His feet kept walking. His eyes slid around the barrier. Nothing.

He walked on, following his friend. Yuri looked around, the houses seemed deserted. A door swung on its hinges with an eerie creak. Apart from the door, the only thing Yuri could hear was footsteps, and the wild thumping of his frenzied heart. He felt like he was watching a horror movie. Murata suddenly stopped, when he reached the corner of the street, and Yuri walked up beside him. A gruesome sight met his eyes. Horror is not an instantaneous thing; fright is. You can be terrified by thunder, if it catches you off gaurd, but horror is slow acting, and much more poisonous. Yuri took in the entire scene before him. The blood. The litter. The rubble and burnt remains of a house, that had been burnt down. The _bodies._ Headless, limbless, and split in two. Some with charred faces. Some with their last screams still frozen in place. Barely six feet away, lay a severed arm. An infant's. Further away, lay the infant's headless corpse. There was no head.

Yuri fled.

Ayla, who had been on his shoulder a moment before, tumbled off as he fled. Yuri couldn't think. He couldn't see. He just ran. Maybe there were voices, he could hear them vaguely at the back of his head. They sounded familiar, but Yuri didn't understand. He felt as though he was falling apart. He felt as though he was still standing there, looking at... Yuri flung himself at Ao, hugging the horse. He buried his face in the black mane, and let his tears fall.

~Conrad~

Conrad had been worried about Yuri. His godson was not one who could take something like this lightly. He was too innocent. But maybe Shinou-Heika had had a point when he had said that Yuri needed to toughen up. The sage stopped abruptly, and Yuri stopped beside him. He stood there for a moment, and Conrad could see him tense visibly. Yuri had swayed for a moment, then turned and ran. Conrad had only seen his face for the tiniest fraction of a second, before he barreled past, nearly knocking Wolfram over, but Conrad had seen the look in his eyes.

His brother turned and ran after the Maoh, and Conrad followed.

**...To Be Continued...**

**Okay, that's not a cliffhanger. But I can probably update soon 'cause I'm on vacation till the 7th of Sept. Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello! This is a Birthday Present for My sister, who is turning eleven today! Happy Birthday!**

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~Wolfram~

"Yuri! Yuri, STOP!" Wolfram yelled, as he chased his fiance. "Come back he-YURI!"

When Wolfram finally caught up with Yuri; the black haired monarch had his hair buried in Ao's mane. The horse turned towards Wolfram as he entered the sheltered copse of trees that Alex had left the horses in, but Yuri didn't notice. He didn't seem to hear his footsteps crunching on the leaves, or his unnaturally loud heart.

"Yuri?" Wolfram asked gently. He placed his hand on his fiance's shoulder. Wolfram realised with a start that Yuri was crying. Wolfram couldn't help it, he pulled his fiance away from his horse, and wrapped his arms around him. To his surprise, Yuri hugged him back, and started sobbing uncontrolledly into Wolfram's shoulder. Wolfram stood there, gently rocking his fiance.

Slowly, Yuri stopped trembling, and his tears lessened.

"...Why?" He heard Yuri ask softly, into his shoulder. _"Why?"_

"I don't know Yuri. I really don't." Yuri lifted his head, and looked into Wolfram's eyes.

"We have to go back, don't we?" He asked. The maoh's voice was shaky, and he was breathing loudly. It took Wolfram a moment to answer. The sorrow in the dark eyes were almost suffocating him.

"We don't _have _to, Yuri." he told him. Yuri unwrapped his arms from around Wolfram, and sadly, Wolfram did the same. It was rare that he got to hug his fiance, for any reason, and even when he did, Yuri would normally find it uncomfortable and awkward.

"Conrad?" Yuri asked over Wolfram's shoulder. Wolfram whirled around. His little big brother was standing at the edge of the shade. He'd apparently been ther the whole time. Conrad didn't move. Wolfram just stared at him. Then he felt Yuri's fingers wrap around his, and pull him.

"Come, Wolfram."

OoOoOoOoO

~Murata~

Murata had stopped the moment he'd seen it. And he hadn't moved since. Unlike anyone else, who would only be able to imagine the pain those people had been through, Murata could relate to them. He'd seen this before. He'd been _murdered_ like this before. _Twice. _He thought. _And once, I survived...although maybe that was even worse..._ Murata had seen Yuri run, and he'd heard Conrad and Wolfram follow. Somewhere in the outer rims of his mind, a part of the sage that he was noticed these things, and pocketed them. But most of the sage, the part that had been forced to endure unimaginable pain for four thousand years, because of a promise to the man he had once loved, was lost in the memories of his countless lives.

Gruesome memories. Death. Gore. Pain. Merciless killing. Murder. And death again. One death in particular. The one that had started this whole mess. Murata pushed the thoughts away. This was no longer the future Shinou had created. It wasn't his fault anymore. Although it had never really been his fault. The still rational part of him felt a familiar mind brush against his.

_"Shinou?"_

_"My sage." _there was no more humour in the first king's thought-voice. It was more like bone chilling sadness. Murata left it at that. He was not in the mood for chit chat.

_"I'm sorry." _Shinou added.

_"That's alright. It's not your fault." _

"Geika?" It was Yozak. "You don't have to stand here." Murata nodded. With his mind safely entangled in Shinou's (who could normally keep him from dwelling on his unhappy memories), Murata felt safer. He noticed that Gwendal and Gunter had already moved forward. Yozak was waiting for him, so Murata followed the two long haired advisors.

~Gunter~

It was taking all of Gunter's self-control not to follow the Demon King's example and run from the scene. Childhood memories that he had sought to forget came back, so sharply that Gunter would have believed it was actually happening. But in his mind, he was young, only in his thirties, barely seven in human terms, and all the corpses were of people he knew. Maids, soldiers, servants, friends...and he was crying out, calling out for _anyone _who was still alive...

"Gunter, are you alright?" Gwendal asked. Gunter couldn't bring himself to nod. That would be lying.

"Maybe." He whispered. Gunter looked around. "There aren't any ravens..." They were the only thing lacking in this scene. Had they been present, Gunter would have been certain he had somehow fallen into his past. Into his haunting nightmares.

"I had them put a barrier around." Gwendal said. Gunter looked up at him. Of course. Gwendal knew...everything.

"What are we even doing here?" Gunter asked. "There's nothing we can do...it's all over.... They're all...gone." Gunter's voice broke near the end of his sentence. It was getting harder to walk without stepping in the gore.

Gwendal didn't answer. His mouth was set in a grim line.

OoOoOoO

~Yuri~

They were walking back to the scene of the bloodbath. Yuri had thought things through carefully, while he had cried on Wolfram's shoulder, and realised that he was being extremely selfish.

_No one else wanted to come here. __**I **__brought them here. It's __**my**__ fault. I'm not the only one who hates this, but it was still my choice. Everyone else has come here because __**I**__ wanted to. _He couldn't run. The other's had been brought here unwillingly, but they were acting stronger than he was. It was his fault, and he had to try to put it right. Although he had no idea how. And he still couldn't force his mind away from the destruction he had seen.

Yuri paused at the corner. Through the corner of his eye, he could see Wolfram hesitate slightly, and guilt flooded through him again. The sun was still low in the sky, and had it not been for him, Wolfram would have just woken up (Wolfram had never been a morning person), and Yuri would have just returned from his morning jog with his god father. The guilty feeling was followed by anger so intense that it almost drowned out his sorrow. Yuri could feel something powerful stirring within him, angrier than ever before. Before it could emerge from within him, Ayla landed on his shoulder, and the anger vanished. Or more accurately, he was no longer capable of being angry. Ayla had sucked it out of him.

Yuri tightened his fingers around Wolfram's. With Ayla on his shoulder, he felt stronger. He turned the corner.

The sight still hit him like a wave. Without Wolfram's and Ayla's support, Yuri might have run away again, but with his new sense of duty, and their help, he could keep himself from fleeing. Yuri had never seen anything like it. The murderers had been merciless and heartless, a concept alien to the young demon king. Everywhere he looked he could see dead people. Corpses. The body of a man hung from a lampost. Many of the bodies loooked as though they had been trampled by horses. Some had been crushed alive. Every time he tried to look away from something horrible, he would see something even worse.

The Maoh couldn't take it.

He didn't know when he let go of Wolfram, or when he pushed Ayla away. He didn't know that he was leaving everyone else behind, or that he was scaring them with his vacant eyes. All Yuri knew, his only remaining tether to sanity, was his certainty that someone had to be alive. They couldn't _all_ be dead.

_They couldn't have killed all of them. They can't all have died. Someone must have survived. Everyone isn't dead. They can't be. _The Maoh no longer registered the dead bodies he saw. For some reason, he was certain that the murderers had missed one person. _Someone must have escaped. They can't all be dead..._

Suddenly, there was a flash, and Yuri was standing in a tiny room. A closet. A young girl was crying silently. Yuri called out to her, but it was as though she couldn't hear him. Finally, of her own accord, she looked up at Yuri, and the look in her eyes shocked him into stepping backwards.

There was a crash. Yuri looked up, and realised he was lying on his back. Wolfram's, Conrad's and Gunter's faces loomed above him. A patch of blue sky floated between them.

~Conrad~

Conrad was kneeling beside Yuri. The monarch's face was deathly pale, and his beautiful dark lashes were wet. Conrad could not help but feel responsible. Or irresponsible.

_I should have stopped him. I could have done something. _Yuri had looked as though he could handle the pressure, and Conrad had let his gaurd down. _After all this time, I still haven't learned. _Yuri had appeared fine, then had suddenly started walking faster, saying something about, 'Not dead..escaped..." He should have realised right then that something was immensely wrong with his godson. But he hadn't, and Yuri had suddenly collapsed, his eyes wide open, staring emptily as he muttered something incoherent. Only then had Conrad rushed to his side.

To be continued..

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**I should stop ending chapters with Conrad. Oh well. **


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